Smith v. Colvin
| Decision Date | 28 March 2016 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:14-cv-03139-AJB |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
| Parties | HOWARD SMITH, Plaintiff, v. CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant. |
Plaintiff Howard Smith ("Plaintiff") brought this action pursuant to sections 205(g) and 1631(c)(3) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g), 1383(c)(3), to obtain judicial review of the final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration ("the Commissioner") denying his application for Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") and Supplemental Security Income Benefits("SSI") under the Social Security Act.2 For the reasons below, the undersigned AFFIRMS the final decision of the Commissioner.
Plaintiff filed applications for DIB and SSI in September 2010, alleging disability commencing on April 1, 2007. [Record (hereinafter "R") 134-50]. Plaintiff's applications were denied initially and on reconsideration. [R75-78]. Plaintiff then requested a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"). [R91-100]. An evidentiary hearing was held on February 28, 2013. [R60, 126]. The ALJ issued a decision on July 26, 2013, denying Plaintiff's application on the ground that he had not been under a "disability" from the alleged onset date through the date of the decision.[R57-74]. Plaintiff sought review by the Appeals Council, and the Appeals Council denied Plaintiff's request for review on August 1, 2014, making the ALJ's decision the final decision of the Commissioner. [R3-8].
Plaintiff then filed suit in this Court on September 30, 2014, seeking review of the Commissioner's decision. [Doc. 1]. The answer and transcript were filed on January 14, 2015. [Docs. 7, 8]. On March 23, 2015, Plaintiff filed a brief in support of his petition for review of the Commissioner's decision, [Doc. 12], and on April 22, 2015, the Commissioner filed a response in support of the decision, [Doc. 13].3 The matter is now before the Court upon the administrative record, the parties' pleadings, and the parties' briefs, and it is accordingly ripe for review pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3).
Having a date of birth of May 21, 1971, Plaintiff was thirty-five years old on the alleged onset date and forty-two years old at the time of the ALJ's decision.[R14-15, 69, 134]. Plaintiff previously worked as a cook's helper and as a carhop. [R15, 17, 48, 69, 134, 180, 185]. Plaintiff alleged disability beginning in April 2007 because of depression, bipolar disorder, and asthma. [R179].
In his hearing before the ALJ, Plaintiff testified that the last grade of school he completed was either the ninth or the tenth grade. [R15]. He indicated that he knew he was having mental health problems as a child, but both of his parents died when he was young, and he did not have anyone to help him. [R18-19]. He stated that he had lived on the street from 2007 until 2010, when he started receiving $225 a month in general assistance and $200 in food stamps, and he presently lived in his friend's basement for $225 per month. [R16-19].
He indicated that he also began receiving mental-health treatment in 2010 and was taking Wellbutrin5 and Seroquel.6 [R19, 31, 41-42]. He reported that he had alsotried trazodone7 but that he did not like it because it made him sleep too hard. [R45-46]. He stated that the medication helped somewhat, but he still had a lot of problems with concentrating and thinking, had difficulty sleeping at night, had violent nightmares, worried a lot, and was scared of people. [R20, 33-34, 38]. He also reported that his medication makes him sleepy and gives him headaches. [R20, 30, 41-42]. Plaintiff also indicated that he had difficulty getting his doctors to fill out his disability paperwork because he kept getting transferred to new physicians and they told him they needed to get to know him first. [R37-38].
Plaintiff stated that any cooking he did was on a hotplate or in a microwave oven and that he did not do any housework because it was not necessary. [R21-22]. He stated that his friend would do his grocery shopping because Plaintiff would get short of breath if he walked too far and because Plaintiff did not drive. [R23]. He testified that he did not read, did not watch television, and kept the radio on but did not really listen to it. [R31-33]. Later in the hearing, Plaintiff reported that he would sometimes look at a magazine or try to read a book but could never finish a book. [R46-47].
Plaintiff stated that he had a diagnosis of major depression, cried three or four days per week, sometimes all day, and thought about suicide "all the time." [R33-36]. He also stated that he had homicidal thoughts every day, all day long; had attempted suicide multiple times; had daily hallucinations about people following him; had a very low energy level; was paranoid and nervous around people; did not get along with people very well because he believed they were out to get him; stayed to himself; and had racing thoughts. [R34-36]. Plaintiff also reported that he had tried group therapy but could not stand being around a crowd of people. [R44]. He stated that he had been hospitalized for a suicide attempt in 2005. [R49].
In an undated adult disability report, Plaintiff stated that he could not work because he had depression, bipolar disorder, and asthma. [R179]. He reported that he had completed the twelfth grade and did not attend special-education classes. [R180]. He stated that he had worked as a cook for four years until he stopped working in 2007. [R179-80].
Plaintiff started treatment at Grady Health System's Central Fulton Community Mental Health Center on January 3, 2010. [R318]. He reported that he was depressedand had poor concentration and insomnia, and he stated that he had never taken medication. [R318, 321]. He denied hopelessness, helplessness, and guilt. [R321]. He also reported that he was unemployed and that his girlfriend was moving to California. [R320]. It was noted that Plaintiff did not have suicidal ideation or homicidal ideation and denied having made any suicide attempts or having any history of psychiatric symptoms. [R315, 319, 321, 502]. Plaintiff was diagnosed with major depression, moderate, recurrent; prescribed Celexa8 and trazodone; and assessed a Global Assessment of Functioning ("GAF") score of 50 to 60.9 [R311-12, 320].
Plaintiff underwent a behavioral health assessment on March 29, 2010. [R305]. His primary problem was noted to be depression, and it was also noted that Plaintiffreported auditory hallucinations of whispering, that it was suspected that he was abusing alcohol, and that while he was observed to have tight associations, he was also observed to have a depressed mood, flat affect, reduced energy level and sleep, and disrupted sleep. [R305]. He denied suicidal and homicidal ideation. [R305]. He reported that he had been out of medication for one and one-half months. [R305]. Plaintiff stated that he was unemployed and homeless, but not in a shelter, and that he had been in school through the twelfth grade. [R305]. In the section of the form reserved for describing coping approaches, the notes state: "go to sleep, walking, get me a beer, sit in the park." [R306]. In the section describing activities of daily living, it was noted that Plaintiff ate at least two basically nutritious meals daily, participated in relaxation activities, used other community services, and cared for his personal cleanliness and appearance, and notes indicate that Plaintiff reported, "I stay to myself and get a lot of exercise." [R307]. Identified abilities included "literacy/basic math" and "mobility within community," and Plaintiff was also noted to receive enjoyment and satisfaction from his ability to function in daily life, his ability to get around physically, and his ability to do work or hobbies. [R308].
Plaintiff was treated at Grady on March 30, 2010, for depression. [R297]. He reported that he was unemployed, homeless, and had no source of income. [R302]. Hestated that he had been raised by his mother until she died when he was seventeen and then he went to live with his father. [R300]. He indicated that he had graduated from high school. [R300]. He reported that he had previously been treated with Celexa and trazodone but that the trazodone was not effective. [R297]. He had not had medication since late January. [R297]. He reported that he had low energy, sadness, sleep problems, crying spells, racing thoughts, helplessness, and hopelessness, and he reported that he had attempted suicide in 2005 by overdosing on pills. [R300]. He also reported having auditory hallucinations. [R300]. He was noted to be attentive; oriented to person, place, situation, and time; to be cooperative and logical; and to have a euthymic mood,10 and he denied suicidal ideation. [R300]. He was unable to process serial sevens but could spell "world" forward and backward. [R300]. Plaintiff was diagnosed with major depression with psychotic features, restarted on Celexa and trazodone, and assigned a GAF score of 50. [R298, 301-02, 355].
Plaintiff again visited Grady on June 5, 2010. [R517]. It was noted that Plaintiff was not suicidal or homicidal but that he was hallucinatory and his affect was restricted. [R517]. He was given Celexa, Risperdal,11 and trazodone. [R517].
At a visit to Grady taking place on September 9, 2010, it was noted that Plaintiff was not suicidal or homicidal but that he was hallucinating hearing a female voice. [R513]. Plaintiff was diagnosed with major depression with psychotic features and given medication. [R513].
Progress notes by Jochebed Ann Pink, M.D., dated January 5, 2011, indicate diagnoses of, among other things, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD"), depression, and bipolar disorder. [R338]. Plaintiff...
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